Nightmares
by SerenBex
Summary: Part 7 of Evie Song's story... set during The God Complex :D
1. Try Not to Die

_**Hello lovelies :)**_

_**After a conversation with **__NaviRebel16 **(check out her fic... it's good!)**__** I made up my mind to write this story. Hopefully you'll like it! Fingers crossed anyway!**_

_**Disclaimer – I don't own Doctor Who or anything related to it (except a Doctor/Donna poster, the first four series on DVD and an Adipose cuddly toy called Barry). I definitely don't own any of the characters except Evie Song who IS mine. **_

_**This story is set during '**__The God Complex__**'. I'm just making sure you are aware of this right at the beginning so if by some weird chance you haven't seen it I won't ruin it for you! :) Also, you don't have to have read **__Evie's Diary__**, but there might be mention of some of the stuff that happens in it in this. Also, if you haven't read any of the other parts of Evie's story it might be a little confusing!**_

_**As usual, all speech that is from the episodes is in italics. Please leave me some reviews. You know how happy they make me! :D**_

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><p>River sighed. Her daughter was late back for the fourth time in two weeks. Now she was almost twenty-one the archaeologist had been forced to admit that Evie should probably be given the chance to go off and do her own thing, but the woman didn't have to like it. In fact, she hated it.<p>

Pacing backwards and forwards across the Stormcage cell she kept glancing quickly at the device on her wrist, checking the time. Evie had said that she wouldn't be home much later than one in the morning, but it was now half past two and there was no sign of her. The last time she'd been this late she'd appeared in the corridor outside the cell with three cracked ribs and a fractured ankle. The time before that she had a broken arm and a large scratch which ran from her eyebrow to her chin.

The woman knew that her daughter hated her worrying more than anything; her most commonly uttered phrase was 'I'm a big girl now, I can look after myself, right?' but it didn't stop River from being unable to sleep when she knew her daughter was out there on her own in the universe. It wasn't even as if she knew where Evie was.

Another half an hour passed before Evie appeared in the prison. She materialised out of thin air, staggered slightly and promptly collapsed in a heap on the ground. River stifled a scream and fumbled with the lock. In seconds she had sunk to the ground beside her daughter, brushing the hair from her face and cradling her head gently, scanning her for any signs of serious injury.

"Evie? Baby? Speak to me!" She demanded thickly, sniffing a couple of times.

The girl opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times, trying to focus her gaze on her mother's face. "S'matter?" She slurred.

River froze. Then her face darkened and she rose quickly to her feet, dragging her daughter with her. "You're drunk?" She snapped.

"Am not." Evie argued, pouting slightly. With that expression on her face River was firmly reminded of a six-year-old Evie who'd just been told that she was too young to accompany her and the Doctor on one of their 'missions'.

"You are… bed."

Manhandling her daughter into her bunk in the cell, River glared at her before slipping into her own bed angrily. Tomorrow morning there would be explanations and arguments and goodness knew what else. River was too tired to think about that now. It was always the same when Evie came back from one of her solo trips. Her mother was seemingly unable to express how worried and anxious she had been; instead River got angry which made Evie even more reckless in an attempt to prove that she wasn't a little girl who needed looking after. It was a vicious cycle.

Lying in the dark, River's anger subsided quickly. She stared at the ceiling of the cell for a while before she heard Evie stumbling across the cell and the unmistakable signs of the young woman being sick. With a sigh, River climbed out of bed and moved to her daughter's side, moving her hair out of the way and rubbing her back gently.

At least Evie would regret this in the morning.

x-x

"Breakfast!" A man shouted, the familiar clanking rattle of the breakfast trolley stopping outside their cell.

River was already up and dressed, sitting crossed-legged on her bed reading. Evie was still cocooned in her blankets, hiding away from the morning light, the sounds of Stormcage and the smell of the breakfast trolley. She groaned loudly, the sound slightly muffled underneath her covers. Her mother smiled.

"Thanks, Jeff." She said, moving towards the bars and waiting for the man to unlock the door so he could pass the trays through the opening. River took them with a smile, placing her own down before taking Evie's. "See you at lunch!"

He mumbled something under his breath, which River strategically chose to ignore, before pushing his trolley away lazily. Shaking her head, the woman forced the covers down over her daughter and plonked the tray of tea and toast on her lap. Evie groaned, her grey-tinged face turning slightly green at the sight.

"There's something I need to talk to you about." River started, sitting on the bottom of Evie's bed and leaning against the wall. She took a sip of her coffee as her daughter groaned and attempted to hide underneath the blanket once more. Realising that this wasn't a possibility because her mother was sitting on most of it, Evie sighed and shuffled into a more upright position, taking a tentative sip of her tea.

"If it's about last night…" She began her tone defensive. But River shook her head, cutting her off. "Good, because I don't have an excuse."

"No… this is something more important. I've been given a task to do… Someone called Father Octavian is coming to collect me in a couple of hours. I don't know how long I'm going to be away, but I want you to go and stay with your father."

Evie narrowed her eyes. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself you know."

"I know." River agreed, though she wasn't completely sure her daughter was right. "But I thought you might LIKE to spend some time with the Doctor and Amy and Rory. I mean, you haven't actually seen them in a while, have you?"

"I saw them last month." Evie argued, determined to be awkward. Her mother sighed. "Fine… actually, I'd like to hang out with them for a while… they don't nag as much as you do!"

River laughed. "Just wait until they get older!"

x-x

Just before Father Octavian was due to collect River, the TARDIS materialised in the corridor outside the cell. The Doctor bounced out of the doors and pulled Evie into a tight hug before awkwardly patting River on the back. Since the trip he and his daughter had taken to see the Lightening Skies of Cotter Palluni's World the Doctor was far less awkward with her. He still wasn't entirely sure how to act around River though.

Evie noticed the Doctor and Amy's faces mould into expressions of surprise when River explained who was coming to get her, but they were quick to cover them with looks of interest. A surreptitious glance at Rory told Evie that he didn't know what she was talking about so she assumed he hadn't been around when whatever was about to happen to her mother happened. She decided to ask Amy or her Dad about it later.

"Well… can't stand around chatting all day." The Doctor announced, rubbing his hands together eagerly. "Things to do, people to see –"

"Places to destroy?" Evie added helpfully. The Doctor looked a little shocked and River rolled her eyes at their daughter's words.

"Knowing you two, that's probably the most accurate." She said with a sigh. Pressing a kiss to Evie's temple she whispered softly in her ear. "Love you, be careful."

"Love you too. And try not to die." Evie replied, just as softly, as she always did when they went their separate ways. The ghost of a smile flitted across River's face and she ushered the girl into the TARDIS behind the others.

She watched as the blue box dematerialised wondering about the strange looks that the Doctor and Amy had shot each other at the mention of Father Octavian. But there was no time to dwell on it, because the cleric appeared moments later and began laying down the law.

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><p><strong><em>AN: I just want to warn you now - and apologise in advance - that so far this is the only chapter I've written of this fic. Things are a little crazy with uni at the moment, but I'm doing my best to find time to write. Seriously, not having the time to do it is killing me! I will update as soon as I possibly can. The same goes for _**_Evie's Diary_**_. _**

**_Hope you enjoyed it! :) _**

**_B x_**


	2. That Brutal Gorilla

"So then?" Evie asked, leaning backwards against the TARDIS console and fixing Amy and the Doctor with a knowing look. "Where's Mum going?"

"How should we know?" Amy asked, trying to keep her face innocent. "All we know is what she just told us."

"Don't try that one with me, Gran." Evie said, raising an eyebrow and noticing how the young woman flinched at the way she addressed her. "I can read you like a book… always could. Now… you know more than you're letting on. Why did you and the Doc– Dad… why did you and Dad look at each other when Mum mentioned Father Octavian?"

"AAAANDDD… Landing!" The Doctor cried excitedly, throwing up the landing lever and bringing the TARDIS to a halt. "We're here… Ravan-Skala… everyone out!"

He had been chattering about Ravan-Skala the whole time they'd been whirling around in the Vortex. Evie hadn't paid him much attention but, as they stepped out of the blue police box and found themselves in what seemed to be a hotel lobby, even she could guess that they were NOT where they were supposed to be. Then again, she wasn't particularly surprised, either.

"GREAT!" She said loudly, looking around her. "We're in a hotel. And by the looks of it we're in the 1980's… and if –" She turned to fix her father with a stern glare, "– you try to convince me that 80's themed hotels are 'cool' I will shoot you."

The Doctor looked wary and shot a look at Amy. "I think this might be something for you to deal with… young woman… delicate things… best if you… yes." He babbled before moving quickly up the staircase and leaning over the banisters to look down at the floors beneath them.

"Are you in a mood because you think we know more than we're telling you?" Amy asked gently. "Or is it because you don't like the 80's? Or is it…"

"It's a combination of the first two options and now, because you're clearly hiding something, I'm worried about my mother." Evie snapped.

"Nothing bad happens to River." Amy assured her. "I promise… I'll explain everything as soon as we get out of here and back on the TARDIS."

Evidently deciding that she would have to take this offer, Evie nodded and smiled weakly. Then she followed the others onto the staircase and peered down over the edge as they were doing.

"'_Let's go to Ravan-Skala.' He says…_" Amy muttered sarcastically, repeating the Doctor's earlier words as she gazed downwards. "_'The people are 600 feet tall… you have to talk to them in hot air balloons and the Tourist Information Centre is made of one of their hats.' He says. I'm sorry, but I don't see any huge hats!_"

The Doctor was clearly not bothered by her subtly chiding. Instead he was moving about in his usual fashion, peering at everything. "_Amy, Beaky,_ Evie… _this could be the most exciting thing I have ever seen!_" He announced.

"_You're kidding._" Rory asked, apparently deciding to rise above the new nickname the Doctor had assigned him.

Evie growled softly. "He's finally lost it, hasn't he? I mean… He didn't have much of it to begin with, whatever IT is. But he's finally completely lost it."

"_How can you be excited about a rubbish hotel on a rubbish bit of Earth?_" Amy asked, squeezing her granddaughter's shoulder. Rory and Evie exchanged a look.

"_Because, assembled Ponds, this is not Earth._" He announced, staring down at them over the banister above. "_This has just been made to look like Earth… The craftsmanship involved – can you imagine?_"

"And they chose the 80's to base it on?" Evie asked, arching an eyebrow.

"It's not THAT 80's…" The Doctor argued.

"_What?_" Amy cut in, determined to get back to the important information that she thought was missing. "_Then where are we?_"

"_I don't know. Something must have yanked us off course._" He replied casually, quickly getting distracted once more. "_Look at the detail on that cheese plant!_"

As he held a leaf to his nose and took a deep breath, Evie turned to Amy and Rory and raised an eyebrow. "What's a cheese plant? Is it actual cheese? Growing on a plant?"

"No idea… it's that… apparently." Rory answered with a shrug. Then he shook his head and turned his attention back to the Doctor who had discovered a bowl of apples. He didn't even like apples. "_Right… but who would mock up an Earth hotel?_"

He turned back to them, throwing the apple up and catching it easily. "_Colonists maybe, recreating a bit of home; like when ex-pats open up an English pub in Majorca._" He took a bite of his apple. "_No… whoever did this, I am shaking his… stroke her… hand… stroke tentacle._"

Shaking her head slightly at his words, Evie moved away from where the Doctor stood to examine the lobby more thoroughly. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Rory looking at the framed pictures that almost covered the wall. Curious, she moved to his side, looking at them as well. The pictures were almost like employee photographs; people dressed in the same uniform, looking directly at the camera when the shots were taking. Unlike employee photographs, however, the captions underneath the pictures were very, very odd indeed.

"_Have you seen these?_" Rory asked, peering at one closely. "_Look at the labels underneath. Commander Halke… defeat. Tim Heath… having his photo taken. Lady Silver-Tear… Daleks._"

At the mention of the Daleks, Evie shuddered involuntarily. Then she glanced towards her father and saw instantly that his overexcited grin had vanished. She knew then that something bad was happening and, yet again, they'd fallen head first into another adventure. Inside her, a tiny spark of adrenaline flashed and she had to suppress a broad grin.

"_Paige Barnes… other people's socks._" Amy read out, continuing where her husband had left off. "_Tim Nelson… balloons. Novice Prin… Sabrewolves. Royston Luke Gold… Plymouth? Lucy Hayward… that brutal gorilla._" She trailed off, confused. "_Doctor? What does it mean?_"

All three of them turned to look at him, wanting answers. The Time Lord, however, didn't seem to have any. Or, if he did, he was keeping them to himself.

"_I dunno._" He said unhelpfully. "_Let's find out._"

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><p><em><strong>AN: Hello! Well, this is a bit of a surprise! After warning you that I'd only written one chapter and saying there could be a long wait for more I'm updating after a day or two? What's going on?**_

_**Well... the thing is... I went home for the weekend, fully intending to get lots of my Uni work done away from my noisy, incredibly sociable housemates. What I actually ended up doing was ignoring the massive piles of text books and assignment notes and writing this instead! :/ Good for you guys, not so good for my degree! Never mind... this was FAR more interesting!**_

_**Hope you like it, let me know ;)**_

_**x**_


	3. Then We'll Have a Singsong

The Doctor rang the bell on the desk. It tinged loudly.

"_Argh!_" Came a shout from somewhere to their left. Amy screamed.

"_Blimey, that was quick!_" The Doctor exclaimed, turning to see what the commotion was about. Three people had leapt towards them, two of them brandishing makeshift weapons. The third stood behind them, apparently for protection, and it was him who spoke.

"_We surrender!_"

Evie screwed up her face. "Surrender?" She repeated, trying to understand the meaning behind it. "Why?"

"_No! It's OK!_" Rory tried to assure the newcomers. "_We're not… we're nice!_"

The Doctor, however, was outraged. "_A chair leg…_ _She threatened me with a chair leg!_" He said, pointing to the Asian woman who seemed to be dressed in nurse's uniform. Evie rolled her eyes.

"Calm down, Dad." She said sarcastically, stepping between him and the chair leg wielding woman. "I'll protect you."

"_Who are you?_" The woman demanded, not lowering her weapon. The Doctor was still glaring at it.

"_Oh god, we're back in reception!_" The geeky looking boy beside the woman said, an upside-down lamp held out in front of him as his weapon of choice.

The man behind him, Evie wasn't sure what species he was although she vaguely remembered meeting others who looked like him before, was waving a large white handkerchief at them and repeating his first words. "_We surrender!_"

"_I've never been threatened with a chair leg before!_" The Doctor was babbling. "_No! Hang on, I tell a lie…_"

"_Did you just say 'it's OK, we're nice?'_" Amy was demanding of her husband.

Evie was just opening her mouth to shout 'shut up' in an attempt to bring some calm to the situation, when the woman with the chair leg beat her to it. Slightly indignantly, the girl turned to look at her, as did everyone else.

"_OK!_" She shouted. "_I need everyone to shut up now!_"

"_Rita, be careful, yeah?_" The geeky looking boy told her, stretching out a hand and laying it on the woman's arm.

"_Their pupils are dilated._" Rita said slowly, looking hard into Evie's eyes. Under her scrutiny, the brunette glared at the stranger, making sure she knew that Evie wasn't scared of her. "_They're as surprised as we are. Besides which, if it's a trick it'll tell us something._"

"_Oh… you're good._" The Doctor said slowly. "_Oh, she's good. Amy, with regret, you're fired._"

"_What?_" Amy snapped.

"_I'm kidding…_" He told her, not taking his eyes of the Rita woman. He made his hand into a phone and held it to his head. "_We'll talk._"

Evie folded her arms over her chest. "Dad… what's she going on about. What's a trick?"

He ignored her and spoke to the man at the back of the trio facing them. "_I take it from the pathological compulsion to surrender you're from Tivoli?_"

"_Yes._" The man said; apparently proud of this fact. "_The most invaded planet in the galaxy. Our anthem is called 'Glory to Insert Name Here'._"

Raising an eyebrow, Evie remembered where she'd seen the species before. It had not been on one of her adventures, it had been during one of her lessons with the Doctor when she was younger. Even then she'd been filled with contempt for the life forms that simply rolled over and allowed themselves to be invaded and enslaved by whoever came along. Seeing an example of their eagerness to surrender in the flesh did nothing to convince her to change her opinion on the race.

The Doctor nodded blankly, before turning to the third member of their little crew. "_You with the face, Howie, you said you were surprised to be back in reception._"

"_The walls move._" He said nervously, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "_Everything changes._"

"_You… clever one… what's he talking about?_" The Doctor demanded, aiming the question at Rita before turning around and walking back towards the desk. Evie arched an eyebrow at him, but he just furrowed his eyebrows and looked away quickly.

"_The corridors twist and stretch._" She explained. "_Rooms vanish and pop up somewhere else. It's like the hotel's alive._"

Turning off the music that was playing in the background, much to Evie's relief, the Doctor moved away from them, thinking. "_That's quite enough of that._"

"_And it's huge._" Howie continued, catching Evie's eye and blushing slightly. "_With, like, no way out._"

"_Have you tried the front door?_" Rory asked. His wife and granddaughter looked at him as though he was stupid.

Rita sighed, saying sarcastically, "_No… in two days it never occurred to us to try the front door. Thank god you're here!_"

Amy and Evie laughed at her words, quickly stifling their giggles at a look from Rory. Evie patted his arm and mouthed an apology before moving to stand beside her father. The Doctor was scanning a set of wooden double doors with the sonic screwdriver.

"I thought it didn't work on wood?" Evie asked in a low voice, grinning slightly.

He sighed and shook his head a little. "It doesn't." Then he raised his voice and tugged the doors open to reveal a whitewashed brick wall behind them. "_They're not doors… they're walls! Walls that look like doors. Door-walls if you like… or 'dwalls'… 'woors' even… though you'd probably got it when you said they're not doors. I mean, the windows are…_" He opened the curtains to reveal more whitewashed bricks. "_Right! Big day if you're a fan of walls…_"

"Who's a fan of walls?" Evie asked in disbelief.

"Some people must be." Her father answered with a shrug.

Before they could get into a discussion about whether anyone could possibly be a fan of walls, Rita cut them off. "_It's not just that. The rooms have… things… in them._"

Evie was intrigued. As was the Doctor, who had just started examining a large, orange-flowered plant on an end table beside the wall. He straightened up and turned to look at her, fixing Rita with a hard stare.

"_Things? Hello! What kind of things?_" He demanded excitedly. "_Interesting things? I love things, ask anyone!_"

"It's true… he does." Evie agreed unnecessarily.

"_Bad dreams._" Rita informed them after exchanging a look with Howie and the man from Tivoli.

Amy and Rory glanced at Evie, who stared back at them. She wasn't sure why, but at the mention of bad dreams a shiver had run up her spine and she was starting to feel very uncomfortable indeed. Suddenly things started to make a little more sense. Not much, but a little.

"Novice Prin… Sabrewolves.Lucy Hayward… that brutal gorilla." She muttered quietly. "Bad dreams…"

The Doctor pulled a face, not hearing her. "_Well… that killed the mood. How did you get here?_"

"_I don't know._" Rita told him. "_I'd just started my shift. I must have passed out because suddenly I was here._"

"_I was blogging… next thing, this._" Howie told them. Evie arched an eyebrow at the mention of blogging and the Doctor looked a little confused; he'd never got his head around that side of technology, which his daughter found extremely odd.

"_Oh… I was at work; I'm in town planning._" The Tivolian said. "_We're lining all the highways with trees, so invading forces can march in the shade, which is nice for them._"

Evie curled her lip in disgust. "Very thoughtful." She muttered sarcastically.

"_Yeah…_" The Doctor said, shaking his head slightly. "_So what have we got? People being snatched from their lives and dropped into and endless, shifting maze that looks like a 1980's hotel with bad dreams in the bedrooms._" From somewhere he produced a rubix cube, spinning it up in the air and catching it deftly as he spoke. "_Well, apart from anything else… that's just rude!_"

"So?" Evie asked as he started off up the staircase at breakneck speed, leaving everyone to follow in his wake. "What's your grand plan?"

"_We'll pop back to the TARDIS, I'll do a planet-wide diagnostic sweep, then we'll have a singsong…_" He trailed off as they reached the blue police box.

Or rather, they reached the spot where the blue police box had been parked.

The spot where the blue police box should have been parked.

The spot where the blue police box wasn't parked anymore.

"_Where's the TARDIS?_" Amy demanded as the Doctor began a strange mime act, feeling the air in the space where his beloved box should have been. "_You parked it there, didn't you?_"

"_What's a TARDIS?_" Howie asked.

Rory sighed, leaning over the banisters and looking defeated. "_Our way out… and it's gone._"


	4. Find Your Room

Evie was about to open her mouth and start berating the Doctor for what she considered his inability to do anything right, when there was a click and the creepy, hotel lobby music started playing again. She whirled on the spot, rushing to see who could possibly have turned it on. There was no one around; apart from the other six people congregated on the stairs.

"There's no one here." She told the Doctor, who was looking at her hopefully from the staircase leading to the floor above.

He gulped. "_OK. This is bad._" He said slowly, turning and heading back towards them. "_At the moment I don't know HOW bad, but certainly we're three buses, a long walk and eight quid in a taxi from good._" He rubbed his head, thinking. "_Are there any more of you?_"

"_Joe… but he's tied up right now._" Rita informed him. Evie arched an eyebrow at Amy, who shrugged.

"_Doing what?_"

"_No… I mean he's tied up right now._" She repeated. The Doctor looked bemused and his companions exchanged another look.

Rita hadn't been joking. The Doctor led them into a large dining room cautiously. Evie could hear a strange sound – a mixture of laughter and talking in high pitched voices – coming from the other side of the heavy wooden doors. At first she was confused; Rita had only mentioned one more person, but there was clearly some kind of party going on in the room.

Then she went inside and her mouth dropped open. Tens… possibly hundreds… of ventriloquists' dummies were seated around circular tables, chattering and chuckling of their own accord. Their heads bounced on their spindly wooden necks, giving them the appearance of living things.

As they filed into the dining room behind the Doctor, the noise subsided immediately and every single one of the dummies turned their heads to face the newcomers. It was horrific. There was a creaking sound as their necks moved, following the Doctor's progress around the room, weaving between the tables and examining the creatures closely.

It was a couple of moments before Evie spotted a dark haired man sitting at one of the tables, lashed tightly to his chair with a length of thick rope. He was dressed smartly, as though he was actually attending an important dinner with the dummies. Something about his crisp white shirt, navy blue suit and bright yellow tie contrasted horrifically with the situation and Evie had to look away.

"_Hello… I'm the Doctor._" Her father said confidently, striding towards the man.

"_You're going to die here._" He said, his voice sounding exactly as the girl had expected it to; smooth and cultured. There was, however, an edge to it that sent shivers up and down her spine.

Trying to make light of the situation, as always, the Doctor joked, "_Well, they certainly didn't mention THAT in the brochure!_" Then he turned away, walking between the tables once more and raising his voice to a more business-like tone. "_Is Joe there? Can I have a quick word?_"

"_Oh… it's still me, Doctor, but I've seen the light._" Joe said, as though he thought the Time Lord was stupid. The Doctor had placed a chair in front of Joe's table and was sitting on it backwards, his legs either side of the backrest. The dummies were still watching him closely. "_I lived a blasphemous life, but he has forgiven my inconstancy and soon… he shall feast!_"

"_Well, you've been here for two days._" The Doctor pointed out. "_What's he waiting for?_"

"_We weren't ready. We were still raw._"

"_But… now you're what? Cooked?_"

There was a maniacal glaze in Joe's eyes. "_If you like. Soon you will be, too. Be patient… first, find your room._"

Evie gulped, not liking the way he said the sentence. There was something so normal about the phrase, 'find your room', and yet there seemed to be a thinly veiled threat behind Joe's words that chilled her. Beside the brunette, Amy took an involuntary step closer to her husband, not aware that she had even done it. Their granddaughter looked quickly at them, gauging their distance from her, before closing the gap quickly.

"_My room?_" The Doctor asked, shooting a quick look over his shoulder, as though checking they were still standing by the door.

"_There's a room here for everyone, Doctor._" Joe told them, his gaze shifting to the six people standing at the back of the room. Several of the dummies turned their heads to follow his gaze. Amy shifted uncomfortably, pressing herself closer to Rory, as did Evie. "_Even you._"

The Doctor did not react. "_You said you'd seen the light now._"

"_Nothing else matters anymore; only him. It's like these things…_" Joe glanced at the dummy seated beside him. "_I used to hate them! They make me laugh now._" He broke off into peals of forced, maniacal laughter. Evie shivered as the sound tore through the silent room and seeming straight into her body. "_Gottle o' geer… gottle o' geer!_"

The dummies began to laugh at his imitation of them, joining in with his own laughter. It was a strange sound; somewhere between desperation and madness and it made Evie feel faint with anxiousness. It was unnatural and so, so wrong. This realisation seemed to dawn on the others as well, as they moved closer together, Rory putting out a hand and drawing Evie closer to him in an act of instinctive protectiveness. His other hand was firmly around Amy's waist, holding her close.

"_You should go…_" Joe warned in a lower tone, his voice barely reaching the huddle standing by the door. "_He'll be here soon._"

The Doctor stood up slowly, before hurrying to the other end of the room and returning with a trolley used to move stacks of chairs around. He wedged it underneath Joe's chair firmly.

"_I think you should come with me._" He said, levering the device and starting to push the man through the maze of tables.

Closing the door behind them, the Doctor led the way back to the reception area. He lowered the trolley and left it leaning against the back of Joe's chair, before pacing backwards and forwards thinking hard. Evie hoisted herself onto the reception desk and folded her arms as she watched him, waiting for whatever he was about to say. The information she'd heard and learnt since they'd arrived at the hotel was swirling around inside her mind, desperately trying to form itself into an idea that made any sense.

"_Why you four?_" The Doctor demanded at last coming to a halt a little way away from them. "_That's what I don't understand. Aside from all the other things I don't understand._"

"_What does it matter? Sooner or later someone will come along and rescue us._" The Tivolian said hopefully. "_Or enslave us._"

Evie growled softly, rolling her eyes. She couldn't like that man… there was something about his defeatist attitude that grated on her. She was a fighter; the idea of rolling over and taking what anyone and everyone threw at her was not something she understood. Evie couldn't understand the way his mind worked. Her instincts were to fight against whatever was going on; either physically or with her brain. He just seemed to be waiting for whatever was going to happen to happen.

The Doctor looked similarly unimpressed by his statement. "_First, we find the TARDIS. Quick thing before we go… If you feel drawn to a particular room, do NOT go in. And make sure someone else can see you at all times._"

"You're sticking with me, kid." Amy muttered under her breath to Evie, raising an eyebrow warningly. "Your mother would kill us all if something happened to you."

The brunette smirked. "Alright, Gran… keep your hair on!" Then she slid off the desk and stood in front of Amy. Despite the fact that at the moment there was only a year or two's difference between their ages, Amy stood well over a head taller than her granddaughter. "But you do realise that –"

"You can take care of yourself?" Amy finished for her, grinning. "Yeah… we know!"

"Back to the task at hand?" The Doctor suggested, shooting them an exasperated look. The two women smiled weakly and turned to listen to what Rita was saying.

"_Joe said 'he' will feast… Is there something here with us?_"

There was no time for the Doctor to answer, because as soon as the woman had finished speaking, Joe began to laugh. At precisely the same moment, Evie, Amy, the Doctor and Rory – who had been standing in a row – turned their heads as though in synchronisation.

"_Something to add, Joe?_" The Doctor asked pleasantly.

"_Here comes the candle to light you to bed._" The man said, smiling nastily. "_Here comes the chopper to chop off your head._" It took a few seconds for Evie to recognise his words as part of a nursery rhyme. "_Chop, chop, chop, chop._"

Howie was the first to react, panicking slightly and throwing up his arms. "_Can we do something about him?_" He demanded as Joe continued to chuckle to himself.

"Gaffa tape?" Evie suggested, holding up a roll.

"Where did you get that?" The Doctor asked incredulously.

His daughter winked. "A good girl scout is always prepared."

"But you're not a girl scout." He pointed out in confusion. Evie just smirked and threw him the tape.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hello gorgeous sweeties! <strong>_

_**Thank you all so SO much for reading, reviewing, favouriting and subscribing! I really do love you all!**_

_**I really hope you carry on enjoying this and leaving me such LOVELY comments! :D**_

_**x**_


	5. Geek Boy

They traipsed around the hotel in near silence. Despite taking every opportunity she had to argue with the Doctor or criticise him, Evie trusted her father with her life and was quite happy to follow him. They wound their way through the labyrinthine corridors. Each looked exactly the same as the one before. Turning corners, they found themselves in similarly identical hallways, the walls lined with doors.

"_Personally I think you've got the right idea._" The Tivolian was now pushing Joe on the chair trolley and the only one speaking. Evie grabbed the back of the Doctor's jacket as he began to wander off in a completely different direction, yanking him back towards them. He shot her a sheepish grin, before returning his attention to examining the corridor. "_Times like this I think of my old school motto, 'Resistance is Exhausting'._"

Amy snorted with disgust, glancing sideways at Evie who curled her lip in revulsion at the idea. She shook her head furiously. "That's just stupid! I mean –"

"Not now, Evie." The Doctor said in a low voice and she stopped speaking abruptly. "We need to stick together."

Seeing his point, she nodded and carried on walking in silence. Amy was apparently determined to keep a close eye on her; she was walking so close they were practically touching. Not that Evie would ever admit it, but her proximity made the younger woman feel even braver.

"Rory!" She called over her shoulder as she made this realisation and determined to keep it a secret. "Geek boy… get a move on!"

Not paying attention to where she was going, Evie walked slap bang into the Doctor who had stopped in the middle of the corridor. She started to make an indignant sound, but then realised that he had been forced to stop because his path was blocked by a large man, dressed in a white vest and shorts and wearing a whistle around his neck. He appeared to have emerged from the open door on their left; room 158 she noted, storing the information in case she needed to recall it later.

"_Hello…_" The Doctor said as a school bell seemed to ring inside the room and echo all around them.

"_Have you forgotten your PE kit again?_" The man demanded.

Evie sniggered. "Naughty you, forgetting your PE kit."

The Doctor looked nervous, glancing at Amy who was standing with Rita, the Tivolian and Joe a little way ahead of them. Rory and Howie had stopped behind, apparently readying themselves for action.

"_Right… that's it! You're doing it in your pants!_" The man commanded, glaring at the Doctor, going back into the room and slamming the door.

There was no time for anyone to react to the strange moment, as the Doctor turned and noticed Howie with his hand on the knob of the door beside him.

"_Hey! Don't!_" He shouted, leaping forwards to stop him.

But it was too late. The door swung open to reveal a room full of pretty girls, around Evie's age, chattering and laughing together as they apparently got ready for a night out. The Doctor positioned himself protectively in front of Howie, as though he thought something would leap out and attack them. The boy looked terrified.

"_Oh, look girls, it's H-H-H-Howie!_" A spiteful female voice said as the blonde perching on a chair teased him. Laughter erupted inside the room.

"_What's 'loser' in K-K-K-Klingon?_" Another of the girls asked.

Howie stepped back, almost stumbling in his haste. "_Shut the d-d.. the… the door._" He was standing on the opposite side of the corridor to the room, his back against another door. Everyone stared at him in horror. "_This is just some m-m-messed up CIA stuff, I-I-I'm telling you!_"

"_You're right._" The Doctor agreed, putting his arm around Howie's shoulders. "_Keep telling yourself that. It's a CIA thing… nothing more._"

He kept his arm clamped around the boy as they carried on along the corridor, much more shaken than they had been minutes before. Rory stood close to his other side, occasionally glancing behind them as though he thought they were being followed or watched. Amy linked her arm through Evie's as they walked, comforting both of them.

"Evie… keep an eye on Howie." The Doctor ordered in a low voice as they reached another staircase and prepared to go up even further. "I think things are about to go from bad to worse…"

She nodded, unquestioningly and dropped back to walk with the nervous looking boy as the Doctor took charge once more. Deciding that they would be safer at the front of the group where everyone could see them, Evie grabbed Howie by the hand and dragged him forward. She didn't let go as they started climbing the stairs and out of the corner of her eye she could see that he had gone bright red.

"So… geek boy…" She started. Then she stopped, realising that perhaps this wasn't the most sensitive nickname in light of what they'd witnessed in that room. "Howie… tell me more about this blog of yours."

As he launched into a rather flustered, overexcited explanation of his blog – which seemed to be a collection of crazy conspiracy theories that he was interested in – Evie kept her eyes trained on their surroundings. By the time they'd reached the next floor and started walking along it, Evie and Howie were at the back of the group once more, until Rory paused to re-tie his shoelace and they passed him. Evie ruffled her grandfather's hair as she passed, sticking her tongue out as he looked mildly annoyed.

"_Er… guys?_" He called a moment later. They all paused, but a terrible roar from somewhere ahead of them caused Rory's words to pale into insignificance and they all jumped. Joe seemed to be straining against the ropes and the tape over his mouth, trying to escape.

The Doctor shoved Amy, Evie and Howie unceremoniously through a door to their left without warning and slammed it behind him. Then he opened it again, realising that Rory wasn't with them and leaping into the corridor.

"_Rory, come on!_" He ordered. "_Come on!_"

When the pair of them re-entered the room, slamming the door once more, they saw that Amy, Evie and Howie were staring at a pair of large, stone angels. The Doctor let out a shriek as he stepped towards it, realised what they were and jumped backwards immediately.

"_Don't… blink…_" Amy ordered Howie, who looked totally bemused, staring at the two women beside him. Both she and Evie were staring at the statues, their eyes wide and fixed firmly on the angels.

"_What?_"

The lights flashed alarmingly and Evie forced her eyes to stay open. They were beginning to burn and itch with the effort and keeping her gaze trained on the statues was becoming impossible. Each time the lights flashed the position of the angels changed. One minute the one of the left was covering its face with its hands, the next moment its clawed fingers were reaching for them. The angel on the right was doing the same.

"_Amy, get back!_" Rory commanded as the three figures at the front of the little group stumbled backwards. In an instant the five of them were standing in a row, their backs flat against the wall. Evie slipped her hand into the Doctor's and he squeezed it reassuringly.

"_Why haven't they got us yet?_" He asked, thinking aloud. Abruptly he dropped his daughter's hand and stepped towards the angels. He reached out and touched one. Except that his fingers didn't make contact; they went straight through the stone figure. "_Amy… they're not real._"

"_What?_"

"_They should have got us by now… Amy, look at me… focus on me._" He ordered, looking into her eyes. "_It's your bad dream, that's all._"

"_I don't even think they're for us._" Rory said softly.

Outside there was a loud thumping. Something, apparently, was walking along the carpeted hallway. The Tivolian screamed and slammed his wardrobe door shut firmly.

Evie rolled her eyes. "Wimp."

The Doctor shushed her, shaking his head and moving slowly towards the closed door.

"_Doctor… what are you doing?_" Amy demanded.

"_I'm sorry… I just have to see what it is. I just… I have to see._" He told them quietly. With a small smile, he pressed his eye to the peep hole in the door, holding his breath. Everyone else seemed to be holding theirs as well, without even realising it. The footsteps seemed to stop outside. "_Oh…_" He murmured, almost inaudibly. "_Look at you… You are beautiful._"

There was a snuffling, growling sound and the Doctor jumped away from the door. In a split second, Evie had taken his place, eager to see what he had been looking at. Her face paled at the sight that met her eyes and, after mere seconds, she too had backed away, shaking her head.

"_Oh dear…_" The Doctor muttered.

"That's not…" Evie started, looking as though she was struggling to link things together in her mind. "It can't be…"

"_I think it's going after Joe._" Her father told them, removing his gaze from the peep hole and looking at them warily.

There was a brief moment of total silence and then the footsteps started again, moving away from them along the corridor. The Doctor wrenched open the door and looked along the corridor just in time to see Joe's feet disappearing around the corner.

"What was it?" Amy asked Evie as they followed him out.

The younger woman shook her head distractedly. "It looked like… like a minotaur… but that's… impossible."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: For those of you who've been asking, yes, Evie IS going to have a room. If you haven't read Evie's Diary then some of it won't make sense to you, although you'll still get the gist of what's going on!**_

_**She won't find it for a couple of chapters yet, so you've got time to take a look at her Diary if you want to ;)**_

_**x**_


	6. Praise Him!

"Where the hell has he gone?" Evie demanded loudly, putting her hands on her hips and putting furiously at the wall at the end of the corridor. She whirled around and glared at the wall at the opposite end.

"You look just like your mother when –" Amy started, but then stopped as the brunette turned to face her agitatedly. "OK, sorry… not the time."

"HE orders US to stay together, but then HE decides to run off on his own." She continued, pacing up and down the corridor agitatedly. "That man is just… impossible! And almost definitely lost."

"What do we do then?" Rory asked, shrugging and looking between the redhead and the brunette.

Evie thought for a moment. "Let's go back to that dining room. If we stick together we'll be alright. Besides, if that… thing… comes back, we'll be able to defend ourselves much more easily there."

"What about the Doctor?" Howie asked nervously. There was a pause as a door along the corridor opened and they collectively sucked in their breath. A general sigh of relief was let out as a terrified Rita stuck her head through the gap into the corridor.

"He'll find us." Evie said confidently as they re-grouped and started walking.

x-x

"_If we can wedge a chair under the door handles, that should stop anything from getting in._" Rory suggested as he and Howie set about defending the room. Evie watched from her perch on the bar as they rolled a table across the room, before turning her attention back to Amy who was sitting beside her looking shaky.

"_Help yourself to tea._" Rita said, offering a tray of mugs to them. Both women shook their heads and she moved away to offer drinks to the others.

"_If it's any consolation, I've met the Weeping Angles._" Amy told the Tivolian, who was sitting at a table on his own. He looked terrified and even Evie felt a pang of sympathy for him. "_So I know how… in fact, I thought that room was for me._"

"_Joe was right._" He said with a long sigh. "_Whatever it is in here, it actually wants to kill us. Not oppress us or enslave us, kill us!_"

"I'd rather die anyway, than be oppressed or enslaved." Evie said, meaning to sound reassuring, but failing dismally. Amy shot her a look, rolled her eyes and slipped off the bar to sit at the table beside the Tivolian. After a moment, Evie followed, sitting on his other side.

"_OK… listen._" The red-head said, putting on her pep-talk voice. "_The Doctor's been part of my life for so long now and he's never let me down. Even when I thought he had, when I was a kid and he left me, he came back… he saved me._"

"Great, thanks…" Evie muttered, miffed that her part in that particular adventure had been overlooked. Once again, her grandmother sent her a look.

"_And now he's going to save you._" She continued. "And if he doesn't… Evie will, because she's pretty good at the whole saving thing as well."

The girl smiled and nodded, placing her hand over the man's and squeezing it. "You'll be fine… I promise."

"_But… don't tell him I said that, because the smugness would be terrifying._" Amy said, grinning weakly. Evie laughed and even the Tivolian managed a smile. The women stood up and made to move away, heading for the Doctor to see what was happening.

"_Of course…_" he said slowly, catching their attention. "_If the Weeping Angles were meant for me, then your room is still out there… somewhere…_"

Evie's face hardened as she saw the smug expression that settled on his face. There was something incredibly unpleasant about his words and the way he said them. She laid a hand on Amy's arm and pulled her away.

"My room's out there too…" She pointed out, suppressing a shiver at the thought. "With everything I've seen and done… I can't bear to think about what will be behind that door."

"We'll make sure neither of us finds the room that's meant for us, OK?" Amy told her firmly. Evie nodded.

"_Every time the Doctor gets pally with someone I have this overwhelming urge to notify their next of kin._" Rory said beside them, making both women gasp and jump. They smiled and laughed softly at his words. Then Rory made an odd, jerky movement and stepped quickly away from his wife.

"_What?_" She asked, looking bemused.

"_Sorry… the last time I said something like that, you hit me with your shoe… and you literally had to sit down and unlace it first._"

They both laughed again. Evie glanced over her shoulder. "I'd better go check on gee– Howie…" She said, catching herself just in time. "Dad asked me to keep an eye on him after the whole bimbo room saga." Her grandparents exchanged a knowing look and Evie rolled her eyes, pulling a face. "Oh grow up! He is SO not my type… far too scrawny."

"Oh… hi…" Howie said, surprised as Evie dropped into the chair beside him. She shot the Tivolian a glance before turning away again. She'd felt sympathetic towards him for all of two minutes, but now she wasn't even bothered that she had no idea what his name was.

"Hey. How are you holding up?" She asked softly, smiling reassuringly at him.

"Oh… you know… about to die and all that."

Evie shook her head. "Don't think like that. The Doctor will do his absolute best to make sure nothing happens to you… honestly. And besides, I'm pretty tough as well."

Smiling, she patted his hand and stood up, re-joining Amy and Rory just as the Doctor started reading something of a scrap of paper. "_Err… 'My name is Lucy Hayward and I'm the last one left. It took Luke first. It got him on his first day – almost as soon as we arrived. It's funny… you don't know what's going to be in your room until you see it. Then you realise it could never have been anything else. I just saw mine… it was a gorilla from a book I'd read as a kid. My god, that thing used to terrify me… The gaps between my worships are getting shorter; like contractions. This is what happened to the others… and how lucky they were. It's all so clear now. I'm so happy. Praise him._"

"_Praise him._" Howie said behind them. Everyone whirled around to stare at him. The boy didn't seem to realise he had spoken. His attention was still completely focused on the cutlery in front of him.

"_What did you just say?_" The Doctor demanded.

"_Nothing?_" Howie looked nervous as he realised all eyes were on him. "_Praise him!_"

"_This is what happened to Joe!_" The Tivolian said, leaping out of his seat quickly.

In an instant Howie was on his feet as well, moving around in agitation. Evie went to try and comfort him; to keep him calm. He broke free of her grip and started pacing.

"_God! It's going to come for me now!_" He panicked.

"_You'll lead it right here!_"

"Not helping!" Evie spat at the Tivolian as she tried to stop Howie's agitated movements. "Come on… calm down!"

"_I won't leave you, I promise!_" The Doctor assured him. "_You have my word._"

Apparently this wasn't enough to reassure Howie. "_I don't want to get eaten!_"

Everyone was doing their best to calm him down, except the Tivolian who announced, "_He's going to lead the monster right here!_"

Having had enough, the Doctor raised the sonic screwdriver and made the most horrific noise. They all jammed their fingers in their ears and groaned until he stopped it. Then the Time Lord pocketed the device once more.

"_Thank you!_"

"_Don't you see, he'll lead it right here!_"

Rita glared at him. "_What do you suggest?_"

"_Look… whatever it is out there, it's obviously chosen Howard as its next course._" The Tivolian pointed out. Evie didn't like where this speech was going. "_Now… tragic as that is… this is no time for sentiment. I'm saying that if it were to… find him… it may be satisfied and let the rest of us go._"

Furiously, Evie rounded on him, her finger jabbing at his chest and forcing him to step backwards. "Shut up! That is not helping and if you don't knock it off, Gimli or whatever your name is, I will personally throw you out of this room and leave YOU to the mercies of that… thing!"

"Evie." The Doctor said firmly and she backed off at once, returning to stand beside Howie, laying a hand reassuringly on his arm.

"_All I want to do is go home and be conquered and oppressed. Is that too much to ask?_"

The young woman looked as though she had something to say on the matter, but her father shook his head sharply and she closed her mouth, glaring at the creature.

"_It's OK… I'll stay here with Howie. You take the others and go._" Rita offered.

"_No._" The Doctor said at once. "_We stay together._"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hello lovelies :)<strong>_

_**Thanks, again, for the comments etc. I meant to update this earlier, but I got distracted by Tumblr... damn it! :P Oh well, here it is now!**_

_**I hope you enjoy it!**_

_**x**_


	7. Don't Come Crying to Me

The Doctor had told the Tivolian in no uncertain terms that no one was going to die as long as he could help it. The creature looked a little wary as the Time Lord spoke softly but firmly into his face, making it clear that he was not in the habit of sacrificing people.

"_Howie!_" He exclaimed, his voice more upbeat as he crossed back to where the scared looking boy was still standing at the table, Evie's hand squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. "_Any second now it's going to possess you again. When it does, I'm going to ask you some questions. Please try to answer them._"

Leading Howie to the table where the others were sitting, the Doctor dropped into a seat opposite. Amy sat beside him and Rory and Evie hovered to their left. The girl saw how frightened the possessed boy was and felt sorry for him. She caught her grandmother's eye and glared slightly, knowing that the red-head was reading far more into the situation that was actually there.

"_I hope my Mum's alright, she's going to be w-worried._" Howie stammered.

His words sent Evie's thoughts spinning back to River, Father Octavian and the strange looks that had passed between Amy and the Doctor. She hated the knowledge that they obviously knew what was going on and she didn't. Her attempts to recall any prior knowledge that might help her work out what was happening to her mother meant that she missed the next part of the conversation, only tuning back in when she realised that the words coming out of Howie's mouth did not really belong to him.

"_You guys have got all these distractions._" He said, sounding a little drunk. "_All these obstacles. It'd be so much easier if you just let it go, you know, clear the path._"

"_You want it to find you?_" Amy asked, leaning forward and smiling encouragingly at him. Her smile, however, was oddly fixed and didn't extend to her eyes; almost as though she were made of plastic. "_Even though you know what it's going to do?_"

Howie looked as though her questions were completely pointless. "_Are you kidding? He's going to kill us all! How cool is that?_"

As he chuckled to himself at the thought, the remaining six people at the table exchanged a wordless glance and moved away as one. They regrouped at the back of the room, looking to the Doctor for guidance. Evie shot a look at Howie over her shoulder and saw that he was still laughing and wiping his glasses as though there was nothing on his mind.

"_It's as I thought, it feeds on fear._" The Doctor informed them quickly. "_Everything… the rooms, Lucy's note, I mean, even the pictures in reception... has been put there to frighten us. So we have to resist it. Do whatever you have to; cross your fingers, say a prayer, think of a basket of kittens… but do not give in to the fear._"

Amy raised an eyebrow. "_OK… but what are we actually gonna do?_"

There was a moment of silence as the Doctor, who had been walking away from the little group, stopped and turned slowly and dramatically to face them.

"_We're gonna catch ourselves a monster!_" He said with a grin.

x-x

Evie and Amy hurried about doing as the Doctor had instructed as part of his grand plan to catch the creature, whatever it was, before it could catch them. The younger girl had questions floating around in her mind that she longed to ask her grandmother, but she knew that there wasn't time. They had to focus on the task at hand.

When the Doctor split them into groups, Amy instinctively reached out to the brunette, pulling her close and remembering her earlier promise to make sure she stayed close to the younger woman at all times. The Doctor shook his head.

"I'm going to have to split you up, I'm sorry." He apologised quietly. "Amy, I need you with Rita. Rory, you're going to have to go off on you own. Evie… I'm sorry."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Sorry… why?"

"You're going to have to be on your own as well."

"That's alright." Evie assured him with a shrug. "I'm used to it."

"Good… right… there are three doors into the spa, yes? Each group… I say group, the only group is Amy and Rita, but that's not really important at the moment… anyway, each group will take a door and make sure the creature can't get out again when he's inside." He explained, laying out his plan with all the importance of an army general directing his troops.

"What'll you be doing?" Evie asked, raising her gaze to look her father directly in the eyes. He looked a little uncomfortable.

"I need to get close to the creature… to talk to it. I need to understand; to work out what's happening here."

"Can't you ever take a situation at face value?" She asked, almost pleadingly. Then she added, in a harsher tone. "Can't you just see that this… whatever it is… is abducting and killing innocent people… creatures… and give it what it deserves?"

The Doctor looked dismayed at her attitude. "You've spent too long in Stormcage." He decided. "It's hardened you. I have to understand… to give it a chance."

Pouting slightly, Evie nodded. "If it kills you, don't come crying to me." She warned, the ghost of a grin playing about her lips. The Doctor smiled before bouncing off to get into position.

"Be careful." Amy warned as Evie headed away to find the third entrance to the spa. She smiled and returned the sentiment to both her grandparents before hurrying away.

It took a long time for her to find the right level at the other end of the hotel. Then it took her even longer to find the right door. At first she'd avoided opening any of the cream doors along the corridor. Then, when she was starting to worry that it was taking far too long, Evie gritted her teeth and twisted the nearest handle.

Inside the room she was faced by a tall, thin man in a set of blue scrubs and a white hat, his face partially covered by a paper mask. In one hand he had a dentist's drill and in the other he clutched one of the sharp instruments of his profession.

"Come on then." He said gruffly. "Onto the bed. Open your mouth and let's have a look at those teeth. Last time you were in need of several fillings, I seem to remember."

Evie hurriedly closed the door. She waited for a moment or two, but then realised that this obviously wasn't the room meant for her, because she wasn't afraid of the dentist. With a slightly hysterical giggle at the realisation that she'd been so scared of being scared, she continued along the corridor.

In other rooms she saw various creatures, including a lion and a dragon, a raging fire and even a woman with two heads and a horrible singing voice. None of the rooms seemed to be hers, however. Evie sighed with relief as she finally spotted a door with a large sign over it, which read 'THE PASIHAË SPA'.

Tightening her grip on the broom handle in her hands, Evie approached cautiously. She heard Amy calling to Rory, before he shouted to her. Ramming the length of wood through the handles, Evie rattled the doors, making sure they were fastened securely and the creature couldn't get out. Then, inside the room, the lights went out.

Evie backed away as a serious of crashes and bangs came from the spa, accompanied by angry snorts and growls. Howie's deluded words came clearly to all of them, emitted over a sound system that had been amplified by the sonic screwdriver. The creature and the Doctor seemed to be having a conversation, punctuated by thuds as the creature stamped its hooves. Evie slid down the wall, sitting on the ground a little way along from the doors, waiting for the signal for the next part of the Doctor's plan.

"_My Master!_" She heard. Her mouth dropped open. It was Howie's voice.


	8. I Love Fish

"_I'm here!_" Howie shouted, sounding alarmingly close to her.

Evie leapt to her feet quickly, feeling instinctively for the laser gun in the holster at her hip. Then she cursed, remembering that she hadn't brought it with her. Knowing her father's aversion to guns, she'd decided to leave the weapon behind for once. Now she was immensely regretting the decision.

"_Bring me death!_" Howie called again, even closer now.

There was a smashing sound and a loud roar from the spa and Evie spun round, wondering which direction posed the greater threat. The door she'd barricaded shook alarmingly, as the creature tried to open it and the girl tensed herself, ready for whatever was coming. She wasn't going to cower or run; she'd face it like a Song.

Then the rattling stopped and there was a smashing sound from the opposite end of the room. Quickly, Evie pulled the broom handle out of the way and yanked the door open, just in time to see the creature smashing its fist through the door Rory had barricaded and removing the mop.

"_Pond, bring the fish._" The Doctor ordered. Rita and Amy glanced at each other.

"_What, the fish?_" Amy said, confused. Then she spotted the bowl on a table. "_Oh! The fish!_"

Evie rushed into the room, just in time for the red-head to thrust the bowl into her arms. She was too worried about her husband who lay on the ground in the corridor, slightly dazed, to bother with the fish. Rita knelt beside them, checking his pulse.

"He's just been knocked out." She concluded, relieved. "He'll be fine."

"_We should find the Doctor._" Amy said, vaguely, stepping over him as Rory groaned and Rita double checked his pulse.

The young woman stopped, staring at a door. Immediately Evie realised what was happening but, by the time she'd put the fish bowl down on the ground and jumped towards her grandmother, Amy had already opened the door. Room number 7. She had only looked inside for a couple of seconds when the brunette slammed the door shut and Rita stood firmly in front of it. Evie held onto her grandmother tightly, rubbing her arms.

"_You shouldn't have done that._" Rita said worriedly. "_What did you see?_"

Amy shook her head. "_Nothing. Nothing. I… I don't know… it was weird._"

"_Come on._" Rita ordered, taking charge.

She pulled Rory to his feet as Amy walked dazedly away from the door, towards them. Evie reached up and tugged hard at the sleeve of her t-shirt until there was a sharp ripping sound and the material came away.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked, confused by her actions.

"Marking the door." She explained simply. "This way we'll know that if we find this room again we have to keep Amy out of it." The others nodded, accepting this idea. "Have either of you found your rooms yet?"

Rory shook his head. Rita gave an odd, non-committal shake of hers. The others seemed to take this as confirmation that she hadn't found her room either, but Evie wasn't so sure. There was a strange look in her eyes when she had heard the question that indicated that perhaps she had found her room and perhaps she wasn't intending to tell the others. Rita was strong and determined; something that Evie admired.

"Right, me either." She continued, glossing over her suspicions about the Asian nurse. "So… it's just Amy. It's really important now that we find Dad."

As they started running through the corridors looking for the Doctor, Rory pulled Evie back a little. "Will she be alright?" He demanded.

Evie nodded. "I swear… I won't let anything happen to her."

He seemed happy with this promise and they continued running through the winding, identical corridors in their search for the Time Lord. Finally they found him, crouching beside Howie's slumped figure. He was leaning against the wall, almost as though he was just sitting down for a rest but, even where the four of them had come to an abrupt halt further along the corridor, Evie knew it was too late. Howie was dead.

The girl went cold as her father shook his head slowly, pain on his face at the loss. Her eyes snapped to the figure behind him, something that indicated the Doctor to the presence and caused him to whirl around.

"_He got free._" The Tivolian said, wringing his hands and looking sorry for himself. "_He overpowered me. It might leave us alone now._"

Furiously, Evie took a step forward, intending to give him a piece of her mind, but Rory held her back, shaking his head and staring at her meaningfully through his big, brown eyes. The girl sighed, allowing him to curl an arm around her shoulders and she leant into him, burying her face in his neck.

"I promised he'd be alright." Evie whispered, feeling terrible. "I promised him."

"It wasn't your fault." Rory assured her in a low voice. "You weren't there… you couldn't have stopped it."

She gazed at him, wide-eyed. "But what if I'm not there to save Amy."

Rory hesitated. "You will be."

The Doctor reached them, absolutely furious. The anger rippled across his face as he strode through their little huddle. He didn't say a word as he made his way along the corridor, leaving them to follow him.

"_Maybe now we'll be safe?_" The Tivolian called, realising they were leaving him behind. He had to run to catch them up. "_Wait!_"

They reached the reception area once more and the Doctor went to stare at the photographs on the wall. Evie noticed that his gaze seemed to be resting on the latest picture; the one of Howie. She couldn't bring herself to look at it. Instead she examined the photo of Lucy Hayward, the woman who'd written the note and seen the brutal gorilla. Wondering about her final moments and the end of her life made Evie shudder.

"Amy?" She called, anxiously. The red-head glanced up and smiled weakly. "Stay where I can see you… I'm not letting anything happen to you, alright?"

"Shouldn't that be my line?" Amy asked smiling. "Especially considering what your mother will do to me if something happens to you!"

"It'd probably be similar to what she'll do to me if something happens to you!" The younger woman assured her with a grin.

Their attention turned to the fish bowl that Amy had just placed on the end table beneath a window. The fish swam about lazily, as though they didn't have a care in the world. Evie watched them, feeling her tension slipping away as she gazed at the creatures.

"I love fish." She said suddenly, making Amy jump.

The red-head laughed. "What?"

"I mean… I think they're my favourite animals. They're just so peaceful. Fish don't care about timelines and alien hotels and laser guns. They just swim and eat and swim some more." Evie said quietly, not moving her gaze from the two fish in the bowl. Amy laughed again and wrapped an arm around her, bending to watch them as well.

Just as she was straightening up, Evie spotted the Doctor headed off along a corridor, almost as though he didn't want to be seen. Jerking her head at Rory, indicating that he should keep an eye on his wife, the girl set off after her father. She had to run to keep up with him, although he didn't notice her presence until he slowed down and stopped.

"Evie… what… go back to the others." He ordered, sounding slightly vague.

She shook her head firmly. "No. They're fine."

"I…" He broke off and Evie realised that his head was turning slightly to face one of the doors.

She was powerless to stop him, however, as something was dragging at her consciousness, forcing her to turn. She could hear voices in her head; strange disembodied voices that seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

"_Praise him!_" She heard inside her head.

Fear gripped her, but there was nothing she could do. The corridor seemed to be contracting, shrinking until all she could see was the door in front of her. Her eyes darted up to the number on the door. Room number eight. Briefly, Evie considered the fact that Amy's room was next door, but then the thought vanished as she realised her hand had closed over the door knob apparently of its own accord.

Her hand turned and the mechanism clicked. Evie wanted to stop, but she couldn't. The door was opening and a heavy feeling was settling in her stomach. She felt sick and excited at the same time. Adrenaline was coursing through her, causing a 'fight or flight' reaction to take hold.

Then she was inside.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Eeeek? Evie's room found her! What do you reckon's inside lovelies? :o<strong>_


	9. CCTV

Evie's hearts seemed to have stopped in her chest. She held her breath and pressed her back against the wall. She couldn't remember going fully into the room, or closing the door, but her attention was focused on other things.

"No… not…" She murmured as her eyes settled on the figures in front of her. She didn't recognise all of them, but something in her mind told her she should. "What…"

Ten children faced her; ranging in age from about eleven to a tiny baby, cradled in the arms of one of the older girls. There was something familiar about the children, something was pulling at her memories, trying to reorganise them and show her the piece of the puzzle that she was missing.

"You left us." One of the children told her accusingly. It was a small girl with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her expression added weight to her words and tore a hole in Evie's heart.

"You just abandoned us." Another of the children, one of the older boys, told her.

The blonde girl cradling the baby glared at her. "We needed you and you weren't there."

Evie gulped. If she hadn't already been pressed firmly against the wall she would have taken a step backwards. A feeling of overwhelming guilt flooded her. "I'm… I'm sorry. I don't… who are you?"

"You weren't there." A familiar voice said. Evie turned to see the accusatory eye of her grandmother staring at her. Beside her, Rory looked disappointed. "You promised you'd be there… you promised Rory that you wouldn't let anything happen to me. But you lied."

"Amy… Rory… I…" The brunette started, her voice catching in her throat as she looked between them.

"You let us all down." The voice Evie was dreading hearing most said. River stepped forwards, closer to the girl than any of the other figures. "When we needed you most you weren't there to save us. Because of you…"

"What happened?" Evie demanded stepping closer to her mother. "What?"

"The library…." River said. She opened her mouth to continue, but a hand grasped Evie's arm and pulled her roughly out of the room and slammed the door.

Shaking her head to get rid of the horrible muzzy feeling, Evie looked up into the face of her father. He stared down at her for a moment, before wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. They stood in silence, clinging onto each other, for what felt like a long time. Neither seemed willing to let go.

Then the Doctor gently disentangled himself and hung a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door handle. He didn't ask her what she'd seen; evidently he'd seen enough to understand what her room contained. Noticing that he wore the same haunted expression that she assumed lingered on her own face, Evie guessed that the Doctor, too, had found his room. She didn't ask any questions.

"We'd better find the room with all the CCTV monitors in. Then we can keep an eye on the others." He said in a low, quiet voice, most unlike his usual tone. She nodded.

"Who knows what mischief they've got themselves into, left to their own devices!" Evie joked, not really feeling cheerful at all. The Doctor managed a small smile, before they headed off along the corridor.

Finally they found the right room.

"_Oh, you beauty!_" The Doctor exclaimed, spotting the nine screens mounted on the wall; each displaying a different part of the hotel. "_Come on, big fella. Where are ya?_"

They scanned the screens quickly. There was no sign of the creature, but Evie jabbed at the display violently.

"Look… isn't that Rita?" She asked. "Where's she going?"

The Doctor glanced at her nervously. Then he turned back to the screens and spoke directly to them. "_Rita? Where are you going?_"

Picking up the receiver, he dialled the number of the room that the woman was walking past. They watched as she paused, glancing at the door of the room before looking directly at the camera.

"_Come on, come on, come on!_" The Doctor muttered impatiently as she stared straight at them out of one of the televisions.

As she went into the room to answer the phone, they temporarily lost sight of her. This made both Evie and the Doctor nervous. She couldn't bear to look at the screens, so turned around and began perusing the rows of video tapes on the shelves. They were labelled with dates. She didn't want to think about what was on them.

"_Rita, where are you going?_" The Doctor asked. His daughter guessed that Rita had answered and moved back to his side. "_Can you take the phone into the corridor? Will it reach?_" Evie felt a bubble of relief rise in her chest as the woman reappeared on the screen, holding the phone unit in one hand and the receiver to her ear. "_You started to praise it, didn't you?_" Rita nodded, making the movement bigger than normal so it was easily detectable by the camera. "_Rita… come back. Please? We'll find a way to stop it, I swear to you._"

Rita sank to the floor, placing the unit on the ground beside her. Through the receiver clamped to the Doctor's ear Evie was able to hear her voice easily.

"_No, I need to get as far away from you all as possible._"

"_N-n-no! You don't!_" The Doctor argued hastily. "_The creature only wants whoever's praising it._"

"_And then you'll put yourself in its way?_"

"_I'm coming to get you._" The Doctor told her firmly. "_Block out the fear and stay focused on your belief._"

Rita gave a small, cynical laugh. "_The hotel will keep us apart. I could be 50 miles away by now._" She broke off as they all heard the unmistakable growling snort of the creature. Evie instinctively clutched at the tweed of the Doctor's sleeve. The shadow of the creature was clearly visible on the displays. "_I want you to do me one last favour, Doctor. I can feel the rapture approaching, like a wave. I don't want you to witness this. I want you to remember me the way I was._"

The door to the little room opened and Evie jumped, whirling around and expecting to see the creature in the doorway. She let out the breath she was holding as her grandparents looked back at her.

"_What's going on?_" Amy demanded, clutching Evie's arm and staring at the screens in front of them. "_Rita's disappeared._" Then she spotted the woman on the television. "_What is she doing there?_"

"_Rita…_" The Doctor breathed. "_Rita, please! Let me find you._"

She shook her head bravely. When she spoke they could hear her tears in her voice. "_You stay where you are. Please, let me be robbed of my faith in private._"

"_Look!_" Rory said, pointing at the screen where the creature had just come into view.

"_Rita!_" The Doctor exclaimed, panicking. "_Rita! Go into the room… lock the door._"

She shook her head again. "_I'm not frightened. I'm blessed, Doctor._" There was another horrible snorting roar. "_I'm at peace. I'm gonna hang up._"

"_No! No, no, Rita!_"

"_Goodbye, Doctor._"

"_RITA!_"

"_Thank you for trying._"

"_Rita, please! Please! PLEASE!_"

But it was no good. She hung up the phone and stood in the middle of the corridor, her arms outstretched; waiting. As the Doctor put down the receiver, she turned and looked at the camera just once more, before facing the creature. Its shadow fell over her. Evie wanted to look away, but she couldn't. Her eyes were glued to the screen in horror.

As its great, hairy body completely blocked Rita from sight, the Doctor raised his sonic screwdriver and turned off the monitor. Evie closed her eyes, feeling the dull burn of tears building up behind her eyelids. Blinking several times until they cleared, she took a deep breath and steadied herself.

"What the HELL is that massive wimp doing?" She demanded jabbing her finger at the monitor that displayed the Tivolian with his back to the camera.

No one answered, still thinking about Rita. Dejectedly they trooped back to the dining room. The Doctor and Rory separated from them to collect Rita's body so that they could lay it alongside Joe's body and Howie's body. It seemed wrong, leaving them lying in the corridors; disrespectful.

Rory, Amy and Evie sat in a row in one of the booths that ran along the wall of the room. There was a banging, clattering, smashing sound from their right and they all turned briefly to look as it continued, with the Doctor's frustrated shouts adding to the noise. None of them felt like talking.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Ahhh! Did you get it? Or, more importantly, DO you get it?<em>**

**_x_**


	10. A Mad Man With a Box

They stayed like that for a long time; Rory, Amy and Evie on one bench, the Tivolian on the one in the middle and the Doctor in the bench at the end of the room. Silence filled the room as each of them concentrated on their own thoughts.

"_OK._" The Doctor said at last. "_It preys on people's fear and possesses them. But Rita wasn't afraid… she was brave and calm. Maybe it's something to do with the people? Some… connection… between the four of you that'll tell me how to fight it._"

"_Yes, you keep saying that… but you never do._" The Tivolian said, picking his teeth. Evie glared pointedly at him. "_And while we wait people keep dying. And we'll be next._"

"Hopefully you." Evie muttered under her breath, earning herself a nudge from Amy.

"_Look… he'll work it out… he always does._" She assured him. "_Just let him riff and move anything expensive out of his way._"

The Doctor's face crumpled as something occurred to him. "_Oh, no… oh no, no!_"

"_Doctor, what's wrong?_" Amy asked, bewildered by his words.

"_It's not fear; its faith… not just religious faith… faith in something._" He stood up, his eyes glazing over slightly as he thought about what was going on. "_Howard believed in conspiracies; that external forces controlling the world. Joe had dice cufflinks and a chain with a horseshoe. He was a gambler. Gamblers believe in luck, an intangible force that helps them win or lose. Gibbis rejected personal autonomy and is waiting for the next batch of invaders to tell oppress him and tell him what to do. They all believe there's something guiding them, about to save them. That's what it replaces. Every time someone was confronted with their most primal fear they fell back on their most fundamental faith. And all this time I've been telling you to dig deep._"

"So… we shouldn't have been doing that?" Evie asked, chewing her lip. He didn't even seem to have heard her.

"_Find the thing that keeps you brave. I made you expose your faith. Show them what they needed._" He said miserably, glancing at the briefly before looking down once more.

"_But why us?_" Rory asked. "_Why are we here?_"

"_It doesn't want you. That's why it kept showing you a way out. You're not religious or superstitious, so there's no faith for you to fall back on. It wants her._" He pointed to Amy. On either side of her Rory and Evie turned to stare at the wide-eyed red-head.

"_Me?_" She asked, horrified. Then she stood up quickly and sat on the bar stool beside the Doctor. "_Why?_"

"_Your faith in me._" He told her simply. "_That's what brought us here._" Then he turned to stare at his daughter. "Evie's faith in me isn't quite as strong… but it's still there. Strong enough to be an attraction to the creature."

She wasn't sure whether to be offended by his words. But as Evie thought about it her father's words made a lot of sense. Amy had a far more rose-tinted view of the Time Lord than she did; her trust in him was unfaltering, whatever happened. The younger woman was more cynical.

At the mention of Evie having a room, both her grandparents glanced at her, realising that this must mean she'd seen inside it.

"_But why do they lose their faith before they die and start worshipping… 'it'._" Rory asked.

"_It needs to convert the faith into a form 'it' can consume._" The Doctor explained. "_Faith is an energy, the specific emotional energy the creature needs to live. Which is why at the end of her note, Lucy said…_"

"_Praise him._" Amy cut in.

"_Exactly._"

There was silence for a moment. Evie, Rory and the Doctor looked at each other, wide-eyed and in horror. It suddenly dawned on the three of them that perhaps Amy hadn't been finishing the sentence as they'd first assumed.

"_No!_" Rory said. "_Oh, please, no!_"

They all stood as the sound of thudding footsteps approaching the room. There was a tinkling sound as the glassware around the room started to shake at the force. Evie looked around warily, trying to work out which direction the sound was coming from.

"Come on!" The Doctor shouted, rushing to the door and throwing it open.

They needed no encouragement to follow him out and along the corridors. The creature was following them; they could feel the thudding of its hooves on the floor. Every now and then they would throw glances over their shoulders to make sure it wasn't yet in sight.

"_Amy? What are you doing?_" The Doctor demanded, rushing back to her side as she stopped in the middle of the corridor. The creature was catching up with them now and they had no time to waste.

"_He is beautiful!_" She exclaimed as he got nearer and nearer.

"Amy!" Evie shouted, gripping her upper arms and shook her, trying to bring her back to her senses. She remembered what she'd seen in her room and felt tears springing to her eyes. A strange fuzziness threatened to take over, but she ignored it, shaking her head. "Come on, I'm not leaving you! I won't let anything happen to you!"

"_Leave her! Just leave her!_" Rory shouted at the creature, as the Doctor put Amy's arm around his neck and pulled her away.

They ran from the creature, barrelling down the corridor until the Doctor chose a suitable door and Rory wrenched it open. They almost fell into the room and Rory slammed the door. Evie, however, was staring at the figure that was in front of them, sitting on her suitcase and staring out of the window with her back to them.

It was little Amelia Pond.

"Praise him…" Evie muttered, the fuzzy feeling taking over her completely.

Behind them the creature was pounding on the door.

"What?" The Doctor turned to look at her, his voice unnaturally high. "Evie… no!"

She stared at him, horrified. "Dad… what…?"

"_Doctor, it's happening!_" Amy moaned, sinking to her knees. The Doctor's gaze moved agitatedly between the pair of them. "_It's changing me… it's changing my thoughts._"

He sank to the ground beside her. "_I can't save you from this, there's nothing I can do to stop this._"

"_What?_" Amy gasped.

"_I stole your childhood and now I've led you by the hand to your death. But the worst thing is, I knew._" He told her in a low voice. "_I knew this would happen. This is what always happens._ And if it wasn't bad enough that I've put you in danger, I've also got my daughter… my own daughter… in exactly the situation that I've always tried to avoid. She's going to die and it's all my fault."

The door flew open, sending Rory who had been leaning against it flying face first into the wall. Framed in the doorway was the creature, looking directly at the two women. He roared and snorted alarmingly. The Doctor squeezed Amy's shoulder as she knelt on the ground. Evie squeezed her eyes shut and felt his hand take hers and hold it tightly. She could feel what was coming.

Evie clearly imagined the scene that had been in the room; the disappointment, the feelings that she had let people down… people who had needed her. She clenched her jaw, determined to fight this.

"_Forget your faith in me. _Both of you. However small that faith is, forget it." The Doctor commanded.

Evie tried to do as he'd ordered. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She dragged up every negative memory of her father she could find; every time the Doctor had got her into a dangerous situation, every time he hadn't got her to the right place or the right time, every time he'd turned up late or not known what to do. She thought about how many times she'd heard her mother crying over him.

Apparently Amy was having a harder time losing faith in the Time Lord, because he started to speak to her. "_I took you with me because I was vain; because I wanted to be adored._" He told her softly. There was self-loathing in his eyes and Evie found that she had to squeeze hers closed again to keep the negative thoughts alive. Even though she couldn't see him, just hearing the Doctor's voice was enough. "_Look at you… glorious Pond; the girl who waited for me. I'm not a hero… I really am just a mad man with a box. And it's time we saw each other as we really are._"

The words went straight to Evie's heart. They may not have been intended for her, but they certain struck a chord. Since she was a little girl the Doctor had always been her hero, even when she didn't know who he really was. There may have been times when she'd argued with him or refused to do as she was told, but she adored him more than anything. She'd put him on a pedestal.

Now, hearing his words to Amy she realised that he really was just a man.

A stupidly idiotic mad man with a big blue box.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hey lovelies! <strong>_

_**After a conversation with NaviRebel16 I decided that I quite liked the idea of people doing fanart for this fic!**_

_**So this is me with a very unsubtle hint - more of a demand, really - for any of you lovely people who fancy it to have a go. I would really love to see what you think Evie looks like. I have a very clear picture in my head, but I'm interested in how you imagine her!**_

_**Obviously if you do have a go and send me links or whatever I'd put them in a chapter so everyone could see - unless you didn't want me to!**_

_**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I probably won't get the chance to update again until at least Sunday, but the next chapter will be up ASAP. Promise :)**_

_**:D**_

x


	11. I'm Sorry

Evie slowly opened her eyes. The sounds of the creature had become less angry. She saw at once that it had staggered backwards; retreating out of the room as though simply being in there was harmful to it. The Doctor was gazing at Amy and she was looking back, as though seeing him through new eyes.

"_Amy Williams._" He said softly. "_It's time to stop waiting._"

They gazed at each other for a moment more and then the Doctor stood up, moving to the open door and looking through it. Evie shuffled closer to Amy, holding her hand tightly. They exchanged a small smile, both shaken by the experience. Evie had honestly thought that she was about to die. Her body, brain and soul had all been telling her that that was it. It was all over.

But here she was. Losing faith in the mystical character she had created around her father, and seeing him for who he really was, had saved her life.

There was a loud thud and a flash of light from the corridor. Seeing that the Doctor had already left the room, Evie stood up and followed, leaving Rory to take her place beside his wife.

Lying on the floor, the creature seemed to have given up. It was grunting pathetically, as though it was running out of energy. Seeing it like that almost made the young woman sympathetic. It looked so helpless.

The Doctor cradled its head as light continued to flash. He was stroking its face tenderly as Evie knelt beside him. Tentatively, she reached out and laid a hand on the creature's chest. It gave a snort, almost of alarm and Evie glanced quickly at the Doctor who gave her a weak, yet reassuring, smile.

"_I severed the food supply, sacrificing their faith in me. I gave you the space to die._" He told the creature, shushing it gently. He stroked its nose, comforting it in its last moments. Evie followed his lead, a sudden rush of sympathy for the dying creature overcoming her.

They both stood up, looking around as the walls and floors began to fold away. Blackness replaced them, surrounding and encompassing them completely. They seemed to be in some kind of cyber-dimension… like in a computer game. Evie glanced at her father in confusion, before returning to her knees and stoking the creature's face once more.

"_What is it?_" Amy asked, alerting Evie to the fact that she, Rory and the Tivolian had appeared around them. "_A minotaur? Or an alien? Or an alien Minotaur. That's not a question I thought I'd be asking this morning!_"

"_I-It's both, actually._" The Doctor told her. He brought up some kind of menu and read the information displayed quickly. "_Distant cousin of the Nimon. They descend on planets and set themselves up as Gods to be worshipped… which is fine, until the inhabitants get all secular and advanced enough to build bonkers prisons._"

"_Correction…_" Rory said. He was on the ground, staring through a large porthole.

Evie instinctively wanted to go and look through it as well, but she felt guilty leaving the dying creature alone. She shook her head, wondering why she felt the need to comfort the creature that had come so close to killing her only moments before; it was bonkers.

"_Prisons in space._" Rory finished.

Amy shook her head. "_Where are the guards?_"

"_No need for any. It's all automated._" The Doctor said with a shrug. "_It drifts through space snatching people with belief systems and converts their faith into food for the creature._"

"Once you're here, there's no way out." Evie added.

"Precisely." Her father agreed with a nod.

Amy and the Doctor moved a little further away and lowered their voices. It wasn't enough, however, to stop Evie hearing their conversation.

"_It didn't want just me._ Or Evie." Amy told him meaningfully. "_So, you must believe in some god or someone… or they'd have shown you the door too. So, what do Time Lords pray to?_"

"_According to the in-flight recorder, the programme developed glitches. It got stuck on the same setting; the fears from the people before us weren't tidied away._" He told her, avoiding the question. Evie was disappointed; the same question had occurred to her. She wanted to know what her father had seen in that room. She knew, however, that he was unlikely to share that information.

The creature growled mournfully and Evie realised she'd stopped stroking its nose. Apologising in an almost inaudible voice she resumed the motion, gently.

"_What's it saying?_" Amy asked.

"'_An ancient creature, drenched in the blood of the innocent, drifting in space through an endless, shifting maze. For such a creature death would be a gift.'_" The Doctor translated slowly.

"Poor thing." Evie breathed, resting her hand on its cheek.

The Doctor reached down to clasp its clawed hand. "_Then accept it and sleep well._" As the Doctor turned and walked away, the creature let out an angrier growl. Evie jumped, retracting her hands from its face. "_'I wasn't talking about myself.'_" He translated in a low, wary voice.

The creature gave a low, throaty groan and closed its eyes for the final time. Evie ran a hand down its nose and patted its shoulder. "I'm sorry." She whispered, unsure as to why she was saying that. She was also unsure who she was speaking to; the creature or her father.

He walked to the TARDIS silently, not looking at anyone. Rory reached out to Amy, sliding an arm around her. Then he held out a hand to Evie. She took it and leant into him as he wrapped an arm around her as well. Pressing a kiss to the side of each of their heads, he propelled them gently into the police box. As they went inside, Evie threw a last glance over her shoulder to the motionless body of the creature on the ground.


	12. Onwards?

The Doctor barely spoke as they travelled through the Vortex. They'd dropped the Tivolian off on his planet, not bothering to find out whereabouts he wanted to be taken, before the Doctor had flipped the controls and imputed the coordinates to wherever they were heading next.

His companions had drifted around aimlessly for a while, before Rory went off to look for his other jacket and the two women settled themselves on the steps up to the TARDIS console. Amy leant her head against the glass railings and watched the younger girl carefully.

Realising she was being examined, Evie glared. "What?"

"I was just wondering… what did you see in your room?" She asked quietly.

"I… It was weird." Evie told her slowly. "It wasn't a physical thing… I think my room showed me people I'd let down or failed. But… there were all these kids in there. Kids I feel like I should remember but… I was going to ask Dad about them, but..." She shook her head slowly and then raised an eyebrow. "What about you?"

"You saw my room." Amy said carefully.

"You were afraid of your younger self?" The brunette asked, furrowing her eyebrows. Amy laughed softly.

"No… I was afraid of being abandoned."

"You'll never be abandoned." Evie told her, reaching out and taking her hand. She squeezed it tightly. "Not with Rory and Mum and the Doctor and me around."

Amy smiled at her. "Thank you."

"No problem. Now… I vaguely remember you promising to tell me where Mum is when we got back to the TARDIS. We seem to be back in the TARDIS, so you owe me an explanation." The girl said, smirking. Amy sighed and shot a glance over her shoulder at the Doctor.

"River… your Mum… she's gone to the first time I ever met her. I think it was the second time for the Doctor… there was this ship and it crashed. We went into a maze of the dead but, as it turned out, nothing in the maze was dead. They were Weeping Angels." The woman told her, gabbling so that the words came out in a rush.

"What?" Evie breathed, staring at her in horror. "Weeping Angels?"

"Yeah… Father Octavian was there. He told the Doctor that River was in Stormcage for killing someone." She hesitated, worried that Evie didn't know the reason her mother was in prison. The girl shrugged, not looking bothered by the revelation and so her grandmother continued. "I don't know if I'm supposed to tell you anything… The Doctor and I were slightly confused to hear that she was going… without you."

"So I'm supposed to be there?" Evie demanded breathlessly.

Amy hesitated. "Time can be rewritten."

"Don't even try that one on me, Gran." Evie told her, arching an eyebrow. Amy smiled weakly. "And don't say I look like my mother."

The older woman was about to laugh at her words, when the TARDIS landed with the familiar wheezing sound and the Doctor bounded down the steps between them. Rory joined them as well and the four time travellers headed through the doors.

"_Don't tell me; this isn't Earth._" Amy joked as they stepped outside onto a normal street with a terrace of normal houses and normal parked cars. "_That isn't a real house. And inside lives a goblin that feeds on indecision._"

The Doctor looked down, his hands pushed firmly into his pockets. "_Nope! Real Earth, real house._" He threw a set of keys up in the air and Amy caught them, astonished. "_Real door keys!_"

"_You're not serious?_" The red-head demanded.

"_The car, too?_" Her husband asked, his eyes wide as he surveyed the bright red convertible parked outside. "_But that's my favourite car… how did you know that was my favourite car?_"

He and the Doctor moved towards the vehicle, leaving the women standing speechless in the road. "_You showed me a picture of it once and said, 'that's my favourite car'._" The Time Lord chuckled, throwing the car keys to him.

"_Rory… can you give us two minutes?_" His wife asked softly, pressing the house keys into his hands. "_Two minutes?_"

Wordlessly Rory agreed, moving away and muttering something to the Doctor, before glancing back at Amy and heading into the house. Evie hovered indecisively, wondering whether to stay where she was, or give them privacy and follow her grandfather inside. Before she could move, Amy started speaking, making up Evie's mind for her.

"_Hey._" She said, patting the bonnet of the car on either side of her and motioning for the two awkward looking figures to come and sit beside her. Evie did as she was ordered, but the Doctor was more reluctant, looking even more self-conscious than usual. Apparently he could sense that this was going to be a conversation he wouldn't feel comfortable with. "_So… you're leaving, aren't you?_"

Evie stared at her feet. As soon as her father had handed Amy the keys she'd guessed that this was the eventual outcome. Then she wondered what was going to happen to her; would the Doctor leave her behind as well? Or would he at least take her back to Stormcage before he went wherever it was he was going?

"_You haven't seen the last of me._" The Doctor promised brightly. "_Bad Penny is my middle name! Seriously, the looks I get when I fill in a form… it's…_"

Amy looked as though she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "_Why now?_"

"_Because you're still breathing._"

"_Well I think this is about the washing-up, personally._" Amy joked, trying to lighten the mood. They all chuckled a little, although it sounded a little forced.

The Doctor pushed himself up off the car. "_I mean, you're right; there's still heaps of stuff out there to look at. D'you know, there's a planet whose name literally translates as 'volatile circus'?_"

"He took me there when I was four." Evie whispered to her laughing grandmother, standing up to follow her father to the TARDIS. "He got me so hyped up on sugar, Mum nearly killed him!"

"_Or maybe there's a bigger, scarier adventure waiting for you in there._" The Doctor suggested, pausing on the threshold of the blue box and nodding his head towards the house.

They all looked at the front door in silence for a moment, before Amy stood up. "_Even so… it can't happen like this. After everything we've been through, Doctor. Everything. You can't just drop me off at my house and say goodbye like we shared a cab._"

"_And what's the alternative?_" The Doctor asked, moving to stand in front of her. "_Me standing over your grave? Over your broken body? Over Rory's body?_" He trailed off, shaking his head weakly. Amy pulled him into a tight hug, holding him close.

Evie watched feeling tears springing to her eyes. Deep down she knew that the Doctor wasn't going to take her with him either, but she refused to believe it until she heard the words from his mouth. Hesitating in the doorway of the TARDIS, she realised she couldn't go in, only to be told she had to leave. It was too painful. Instead, she laid her palm flat against the wood of the door and rested her forehead against it. The telepathic murmuring from the ship told her that it would be alright; that things would work themselves out.

"_If you bump into my daughter,_" Amy said in a low voice, "_tell her to visit her old mum sometime._" The Doctor smiled and Amy turned to Evie. "You too… I might not be good at baking and… other things like that… but I'm still your Gran, alright? And your friend. So I expect to see you lots."

Evie smiled. It faltered when she realised that the Doctor had turned to look at her with a sad expression. Then he turned away, nodding towards the house. "_Look after him._"

"_Look after you._" She replied quickly and gave him a kiss on the forehead. They smiled and he walked slowly to the TARDIS and Evie.

"So… onwards?" Evie asked, dreading his reply.

As he looked deep into her eyes, the Doctor saw that his daughter knew what was coming. "Not now, Evie." He said in a low, careworn voice. "I have… there's something really important I need to do. It involves your Mum and you can't come with me. I'm sorry, you just can't."

Evie nodded. "I know." She told him gently. His face told her that he didn't have a choice and Evie knew that this was something she had to accept. There was nothing to gain from arguing. "Be careful."

The Doctor hugged her tightly. She buried her face in his tweed jacket, inhaling his scent and committing it to memory. It seemed too final. Evie knew that with the Doctor anything was possible; what seemed like the end rarely ever was. But there was just something about him that made her cling on, as though she would never see him again.

"I love you." He said softly. She blinked, wondering whether she'd heard correctly. The Doctor had never said that to her before. Pulling herself out of his embrace, she stared into his big, brown eyes as he repeated his words. "I love you, Evie Song."

She smiled. "I love you too, Dad."

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><p><strong><em>Last chapter coming up either tomorrow or the day after! Then there will be more chapters in Evie's Diary - hopefully - while I get round to writing the next Evie fic. At the moment I'm thinking of something like 'Trust' as a title, but I'm not sure yet. <em>**

**_I'll keep you posted, anyway!_**

**_As usual, thanks for the comments and things! I love reading them, so keep it up! :D_**

**_x_**


	13. The Longest, Most Ridiculous Name

Amy held out her arms as the Doctor went inside the TARDIS. Evie fell into them gratefully and they both sobbed as the familiar sounds started up and the blue box blinked out of view. The younger woman scrubbed roughly at her face, removing the tears and squeezed her grandmother reassuringly.

"_What happened?_" Rory asked behind them, making both Evie and Amy jump. "_What's he doing?_"

They turned slowly to look at him. Evie noticed that he was carrying a bottle of champagne and four glasses. This was no longer a time for celebration.

"_He's saving us._" Amy said softly.

They stood for a long time, just watching the space where the TARDIS had been and the sky above them. Then Rory gently led his wife and granddaughter into the house. Amy sank onto the sofa for a couple of moments, before moving to the window and staring up at the sky once more.

"Come on…" Rory told her gently, steering her back to the sofa. He glanced at his watch quickly. "You and Evie stick the telly on and I'll make dinner."

His words seemed to bring his wife back to her senses. She blinked several times and then turned her full attention on the brunette hovering by the living room door. Evie was standing just inside the room, looking as though she wasn't sure whether she should be there or not.

"What are you going to do now?" Amy asked her, sounding much harsher than she'd meant to. Checking herself, she shook her head slightly and tried again. "I mean… now that the Doctor's gone… how are you going to get home? Not that I'm saying I want you to go… I just…"

"I have the Vortex Manipulator still." Evie said weakly. "I was intending to go back to Stormcage just after we left and refuse to let Mum go with that Father Octavian guy on her own."

Amy gave a weak smile. "Apparently that's what happened when we were there."

"But…" Rory cut in, poking his head around the kitchen door. "Evie isn't going anywhere for a couple of days." Both women turned to look at him in confusion. He smiled. "We've all had a tough time… The Doctor going off like that… well, I reckon just a few days of normality would do you both good."

Evie had to concede that this did sound like a very tempting idea. The thought of just being normal for a while before setting off on her next adventure was something that was appealing to her strongly at that moment. It was even more appealing because there seemed to be a very large, Doctor-shaped hole in her heart at that moment and the idea of staying with her grandparents was going some way to repairing it. She sneaked a nervous look at Amy, wondering what she thought about the idea. The younger woman was worried that having her around would be too much a reminder of what she'd lost.

But Amy looked delighted at the prospect. "Evie? What d'you think?"

"I'd love to!" Her granddaughter exclaimed, moving to sit beside her on the sofa. Amy threw her arms around her neck and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "Thanks."

"Oi! No thank you's, please. You're a Pond." Amy told her firmly.

"Williams." Rory corrected but, at a stern look from his wife and an amused smirk from his granddaughter he sighed and shook his head, retreating to the kitchen. "OK, you're definitely a Pond."

"Technically I'm a Song." The brunette pointed out, grinning.

"What's the Doctor's surname?" Amy pondered, not removing her arm from around the younger woman's shoulders. "Does he even have one?"

Evie laughed. "Why?"

"Well because then you'd probably have the longest, most ridiculous name in the universe!" Amy said with a grin. "Evie Williams Pond Song… whatever. Doctor?"

"Doctor?" The girl spluttered with laughter. "Evie Williams Pond Song Doctor. That's a name and a half right there! At least I don't have a middle name as well!"

"I was thinking about that. I think you should have a middle name. What about Jessica?"

"Why Jessica?"

"It's my middle name." Amy told her.

"Isn't it kinda up to Mum and Dad?" Evie pointed out with a grin. "I quite like it, but I think perhaps you should bring it up with them."

Amy giggled. "Maybe I will! I'm going to call you Evie Jessica Song, anyway."

"You dropping the rest of the surnames then?" Her granddaughter teased her. "It's not Evie Jessica Williams Pond Song Doctor?"

"Don't be ridiculous." The red-head said, pulling a face and rolling her eyes. "That's just silly." Then she giggled again.

They had just settled down to watch a film when the doorbell rang. The women exchanged a look and Amy sighed, disentangling her long legs from underneath her and moving into the hall to open the door. There was some muffled chatting, during which Rory appeared in the doorway from the kitchen and mouthed, 'who is it?' Evie shrugged.

"… I was saying to my husband that I thought the new people must have moved in." A female voice said coming closer. Rory pulled a face and darted back into the kitchen. Evie smirked at his reaction. "He said you couldn't have because he hadn't seen any removal vans or anything."

"Oh… we arrived quite late one night." Amy said, walking into the living room.

The woman with her was, in Evie's opinion, probably in her early 60's. She had short, dyed blonde hair and a lot of makeup on. Her eyes were darting around the room nosily and they eventually rested on Evie, sitting on the sofa. She stood up, smiling and extending her hand in a friendly greeting. If this was Amy's new neighbour they should probably make a good first impression.

"Hi, I'm Evie." She said, shaking the woman's hand enthusiastically. The woman looked a little taken aback.

"Oh… Margery Peterson… number 27." She said with a weak smile. "So… are you housemates or…"

"Oh, this is my…" Amy started glancing quickly at Evie and widening her eyes as she struggled to think.

"Sister." Evie chipped in with a bright smile. "I'm Amy's younger sister."

Margery smiled vaguely. "Oh, yes… I can see the resemblance." As she turned back to Amy, Evie winked and grinned.

"My husband, Rory, should be around somewhere." The red-head said, raising her voice so that he would hear. Reluctantly he poked his head around the kitchen door.

"Sorry, it's very nice to meet you, but I'm trying to keep dinner under control." He said, before disappearing from sight once more. Amy and Evie smiled at the woman, who said that she could see they were busy and made her goodbyes. Once she'd gone, they settled back down into their former state of normality.

This continued for several days. It was almost a week before Evie contemplated going anywhere. Then it was a further three days before she actually did anything about it. With hugs and kisses and assurances that she'd come and see them straight after she got back from her next adventure, Evie pressed a button on her Vortex Manipulator, whirling away through time and space to confront whatever was waiting for her and her mother at the Byzantium.

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><p><em><strong>And that's it! I hope you like it!<strong>_

_**A MASSIVE thank you to you guys. I just looked at the stats on this and Evie's Diary and literally almost fell off my chair! I owe you all! Hugs are being sent your way! :)**_

_**Keep an eye out for the next part of Evie's story... and an update on the Diary which I PROMISE is coming very soon!**_

_**x**_


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